Defendants know that the quickest way to level an uneven playing field is to… well… sprint. And few procedural tools reward nimble defense work quite like snap removal—the perfectly valid act of removing a case to federal court before the forum defendant is served. Plaintiffs call it gamesmanship. We call it reading the statute. Yet
The passage of time can change our collective perception of what is normal and accepted. By way of a somewhat contrived example, back in 1989, there was a popular cross-over rap song called “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie. It was catchy, entertaining, and a contrast to so-called “gangsta rap” that scared the Parents Music